On this day in 1959 legendary blues upright bass player and composer Willie Dixon recorded his signature size positive anthem "Built for Comfort" with pianist Memphis Slim. It's apropos to make this the Record of the Day since my friends at Fat Fancy will be celebrating their 7th anniversary at Sugar Town this Saturday.

Willie Dixon has long been one of my biggest musical heroes not only for his music, but for his character. He's best known for being instrumental in the development of Chicago/Chess blues as well as early rock n roll. However, prior to that he was involved in the early R&B movement with his small combo, the Big 3 Trio who fused jazz with blues in a kind of jive style (a style that would live on in Willie's solo recordings). Additionally, much later in his career he formed The Blues Heaven Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting for blues musicians who had been exploited by the music industry.

Also noteworthy, he spent 10 months in prison after refusing to take part in WWII as a conscientious objector. Willie would remain an outspoken peacenik throughout his life.

Here is a short list of just some of his compositions which became blues standards:"29 Ways"

It's pretty mind-blowing that so many definitive blues compositions came from one man. It's really hard to imagine where blues would have been without him. Certainly not as commercially successful. Or maybe someone else would have come along to fill what surely would have been an enormous void in Willie's absence. Of course we'll never know. I've long felt it's quite a shame that he's not celebrated more. American music was largely molded by this plus sized genius.

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I'm excited to highlight some of my favorite records in a variety of genres (soul, R&B, classic country, rockabilly, oldies, garage rock, etc). These won't all necessarily be "dance" records per se. They will all be records that I believe deserve a special listen. I simply love good music, rare or not. Hopefully you will spend some time here and love music right along with me! Lets give this a shot!Portland Soul DJPortland Classic Country DJPortland R&B DJPortland Rock 'n' Soul DJPortland Party Producer